2014 World Cup qualifiers

[Ketsbaia]

I'm in my mid 40s and most of my international football watching life has consisted of watching England play fucking Poland. It seems to be like Coronation Street ... if you stare at the telly for long enough, England - Poland will come on.

 

Here's what will happen. We'll start really well in the qualifying, we'll have a slight dip (maybe a home loss to Montenegro), but go on to qualify top of our group.

 

When the finals come around, the entire nation will get far too excited about it all, we'll start talking about winning it, we'll play three group matches, one will be convincing, the first two will be deeply worrying, drawing with Algeria and Norway or something.

 

We'll get a shit Latin American country in the next round .. Paraguay, someone like that. We'll beat them.

 

In the QF, we'll get some half decent side, play quite well, but get beaten on penalties. The deflation will then start in earnest for the entire fucking saga repeating itself four years later.

 

Boring.

 

FYP

[ponsaelius]

So another "relatively easy" group for England. Hopefully, Capello will be nowhere near the England setup by the time the qualifiers start.

 

He's out straight after the current campaign. He was just over in Rio on a jolly I'd assume.

 

Good.

 

To be replaced by somebody else who produces allmost identical results.

 

Like somebody said about Bob Bradley the other day "He got the sack because it's impossible to sack a generation of average players" or something of equal measure. It's the same with England only slightly higher up the ladder.

[Sifu]

So another "relatively easy" group for England. Hopefully, Capello will be nowhere near the England setup by the time the qualifiers start.

 

He's out straight after the current campaign. He was just over in Rio on a jolly I'd assume.

 

Good.

 

To be replaced by somebody else who produces allmost identical results.

 

Like somebody said about Bob Bradley the other day "He got the sack because it's impossible to sack a generation of average players" or something of equal measure. It's the same with England only slightly higher up the ladder.

 

Indeed, this generation of players have massively underachieved. The future generation doesn't look that great tbh (bar Sturridge and maybe Carroll)

 

But I'm still hoping for an England manager who can actually speak English for starters.

[ponsaelius]

Somebody who can speak English isn't going to make our best right back a competent defender, or give us a selection of strikers that is not pitiful for a top nation, or give us midfielders that can function at playing possession football, or make James Milner anything more than an average workhorse, or give us wide players that aren't grossly limited footballers, or make our aging defenders any younger/less injury prone etc etc...

 

Worst of all having somebody who can speak English isn't going to deflate the massive egos of what is essentially an average generation of players.

[Sifu]

Somebody who can speak English isn't going to make our best right back a competent defender, or give us a selection of strikers that is not pitiful for a top nation, or give us midfielders that can function at playing possession football, or make James Milner anything more than an average workhorse, or give us wide players that aren't grossly limited footballers, or make our aging defenders any younger/less injury prone etc etc...

 

Worst of all having somebody who can speak English isn't going to deflate the massive egos of what is essentially an average generation of players.

 

Unfortunately true. Though what I'm trying to say is that we need a manager who can motivate and give his point across to players effectively. I'm still not sure how the players actually understand what's going on half the time.

 

It is a sad state of affairs though that the international stage has come up to this point, ie. it's not about the passion and pride anymore.

[Flip]

Completely and utterly disagree with your last setence. To suggest that the international stage isn't about passion and pride anymore, I can say your utterly wrong. That's what it's all about at least in South America and I know it's huge in most of the world. I think it's a sad excuse to use, and an excuse used because one owns national team is in a terrible period (read ENGLAND). I think the biggest dream and pride for every player is to put on their national team shirt, no doubt about it.

 

World Cup is bigger than the Champions League and will always be.

[Sifu]

Completely and utterly disagree with your last setence. To suggest that the international stage isn't about passion and pride anymore, I can say your utterly wrong. That's what it's all about at least in South America and I know it's huge in most of the world. I think it's a sad excuse to use, and an excuse used because one owns national team is in a terrible period (read ENGLAND). I think the biggest dream and pride for every player is to put on their national team shirt, no doubt about it.

 

World Cup is bigger than the Champions League and will always be.

 

I had England in mind when I wrote that last sentence. What is a privilege doesn't seem so anymore in this country imho.

[ross magoo]

Watch yourselves in Poland.  Football fans over there are a shower of fucking animals.  I went over to Wroclaw for a Europa League qualifier a few weeks ago and we spent most of our time dodging flying bottles and pint glasses.